Graduate Roi Etenesh recently was inducted into the Israel Defense Forces as a naval engineering officer. He grew up in Ethiopia and lived in a transit camp for eight years in Gondar, before he and his family were airlifted out to Israel through the Operation Moses rescue mission. Tragically, Roi’s grandmother and father passed away in Gondar; his mother died one month after the family arrived in Israel, leaving seven young children to face their new homeland alone.

Interview with Roi Etenesh by the Jewish Advocate newspaper.

Roi arrived at Yemin Orde Youth Village at 13 years of age and started to thrive. He studied hard and was active in the Yemin Orde Children’s Choir. Roi was considered a role model among his peers because of his warm personality and outgoing demeanor.

In 2017, Roi graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

While he was a student, Roi helped create a new stretcher for hard-to-reach emergency medical situations. The new apparatus, which is called the Adventure Stretcher, is already used in the field by Emergency Medical Services teams.

Roi hopes to serve Israel in a significant way through his military service and to live a  successful and productive life.  By volunteering at Yemin Orde and helping youth in their studies, Roi continues to serve as a positive role model to other at-risk youth from similar challenging backgrounds.

Click here to read more success stories of Yemin Orde graduates.